Comments

I don't care if it was 90 percent in support, we should never vote on it.

That being said, when an ineffective, veto-happy governor won't let it pass, voting may be the only solution for decent people to gain equality.

If that's what it comes down to, a main talking point should be along the lines of:

We're left with no other choice but to vote on minority rights because Chris Christie only governs for the majority.

Posted by: kpo5 | Jul 10, 2013 10:30:18 AM

It's also possible that a court case can get us there. However, it will take a while. The original Lewis v. Harris case that got New Jersey civil unions took 3 years from the first hearing to the final decision. Lambda Legal has already filed suit this time around, and maybe it'll be faster, or maybe not. There's the chance that the New Jersey Supreme Court will be more anti-gay this time around, as the three justices who said that marriage is the only acceptable solution are now gone from the bench. Governor Chris Christie has repeatedly tried to appoint arch conservatives to the court, but so far he's been stymied by New Jersey's Democratic legislature. But they may not be able to hold out forever, and the election this year can change the balance of power.

Despite the encouraging poll numbers, a ballot initiative has its own risks and pitfalls. The soonest we can get a ballot in NJ is for 2014, an off-year election that favors older, more conservative voters. A ballot fight will also be extremely expensive in the media market of New Jersey (ads have to be bought in NY and Philly). Worse still, New Jersey doesn't have much grassroots organizing experience in the last decade. Garden State Equality, the state's premier gay rights group, has very little experience with it. The legwork required to win a referendum like this is simply foreign to most progressives in the state.

Right now, the most immediate path to marriage equality in the garden state is to vote out Governor Chris Christie. His Democratic opponent, State Senator Barbara Buono, has always been an ardent supporter of LGBT rights. The odds against her are daunting, but so are all the other options. New Jersey is going to have to work for this.

Posted by: LetSodomRing | Jul 10, 2013 10:54:12 AM

Just dump the obnoxious governor.

Posted by: Monrocsol | Jul 10, 2013 2:39:14 PM

The 9% in the DK/NA column should be counted for the marriage equality side, because if one doesn't know or doesn't care enough to even answer by this point in time, then one probably wouldn't care if it were enacted either.